Washington Post Explains National Impact Of Oklahoma Opioid Settlement

On Tuesday, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter announced the first settlement to come from its lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. Hunter says Purdue Pharma, the makers of Oxycontin, will pay $270 million to establish support for the OSU Center for W

Tuesday, March 26th 2019, 7:02 pm

By: News 9

Washington Post Explains National Impact Of Oklahoma Opioid Settlement

On Tuesday, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter announced the first settlement to come from its lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.

Hunter says Purdue Pharma, the makers of Oxycontin, will pay $270 million to establish support for the OSU Center for Wellness and Recovery. The Washington Post compares this to ongoing cases around the country, and health reporter Lenny Bernstein says Oklahoma took the smart approach to get results quickly.

“If Purdue is as close to bankruptcy as many people believe and they seem to have indicated,” Bernstein says. “they’ve said they’re exploring it, maybe there’s not much left for those folks.”

He adds that other defendants may use Purdue’s sum to come up with their own. “The other companies will be able to say, ‘well, we’re a much larger or a smaller or a similarly-sized company to Purdue, and now we can kind of gauge what settlement might look like,’” he explains.

The state's trial against the remaining manufacturers is set to start on May 28.

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